No Sanford vs. Sanford in S.C.

Political junkies hoping for a Sanford vs. Sanford showdown in South Carolina had their hopes dashed Monday when Jenny Sanford said she’s not running for a vacant House seat.

The announcement means former Gov. Mark Sanford won’t battle his ex-wife in a special election for the seat of former congressman and newly sworn-in Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). The House seat opened when Scott was appointed to succeed former Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, who resigned for a top job at The Heritage Foundation.

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Jenny Sanford’s popularity grew after the 2009 drama surrounding her husband’s days-long disappearance and subsequent news that he was in Argentina having an extramarital affair with a local woman he had met years earlier.

Sanford had been mentioned as a possible appointee to the Senate seat, and she later indicated she was looking at a bid for Scott’s seat.

But she told The Associated Press on Monday that she enjoyed motherhood too much to devote herself to a run for public office. Sanford is a Georgetown-educated former investment banker who served as a top political aide to Mark Sanford but has no experience in elected office. According to her personal website, she now “works part-time in consulting and investment management while continuing to focus on her greatest legacy, her four sons.”

Mark Sanford is widely believed to be running. Several news outlets have reported as much, most recently The Weekly Standard, which cited “sources close to Sanford” in a Friday report on the former governor’s intentions. Sanford also confirmed to the AP in late December that he is eyeing a campaign.

If he follows through, Sanford would be attempting an unlikely political comeback, running to recapture the same congressional seat — South Carolina’s 1st District — he held from 1995 through 2000. When he left office in 2011 after two terms as governor, Sanford was the subject of national ridicule and his political career was assumed over: He had been censured by the state Legislature over state travel expenses used to facilitate visits to Argentina.

Primaries for the House seat are scheduled for March 19; if no candidate receives 50 percent, runoffs will occur on April 2. The general election is scheduled for May 7.

Candidates can officially file to run starting on Friday. Other potential candidates, reported the AP, include state Sen. Larry Grooms and former state House Majority Leader James Merrill.